Kennispark Twente:
Science to Business to Science
National Event of Latvia:
Stairway to Excellence
Riga, Hotel Bergs, 15 April 2015
Hans Vossensteyn
Thanks to Kees Eijkel, President:
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UNIVERSITY – BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Stairway to Excellence: Science to Business to Science
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THE ISSUES AT STAKE (at university)
 What are our academic/research stengths?
 What activities do we undertake that promote entrepreneurship?
 Which ‘knowledge communities’ are we connected to that have
useful knowledge for our research?
 How do we use their knowledge to strengthen our research?
Stairway to Excellence: Science to Business to Science
20-4-2015
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STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS & COLLABORATION
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THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT
 Unit Cell = Research Group
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Strongly specialised, mostly disciplinary
 Steering wheel = professor
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Fuel = PhD projects
 Goal/drive = becoming the best
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Being outstanding in your own field
 Reference = international peers
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Many contests
 Money = just a means to achieve the goal
 This strong anchors
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Industrial contacts & contracts and organising valorisation “trouble”
Stairway to Excellence: Science to Business to Science
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UT: RELEVANCE IN RESEARCH
 Focus and Mass:
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Inspire research and couple academic excellence to societal relevance
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Be GREAT in a context: High Tech Human Touch
 UT strategy: Research Institutes (MESA+/MIRA/CTIT/IGS):
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Organisation by forward oriented societally relevant themes
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Multidisciplinary programs (research orientations)
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Adding thrust in a relevance direction, strengthening groups
 Critical performance indicators:
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Combining many disciplines into 1 coherent relevant target
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Great academic quality
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Great opportunity for external funding/valorisation
Stairway to Excellence: Science to Business to Science
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EXAMPLE – Lab on a Chip
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Albert van den Berg
Detlef Lohse
Frieder Mugele
Many Others
Lots of key papers
Extensive research funding
Prizes
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20 spin-offs
All across value chain
International take-overs
Micronit: 30% of all DNA tests worldwide
Stairway to Excellence: Science to Business to Science
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Valorisation Strategy
Economy
Research
Fuel,
focus,
feedback
Support
•Facilities
•Networks
•Financing
Interact
•Coffeetable
•Lab floor
Engage and
challenge
And now to commercialization
Twente
01 Inhoudsopgave
Inhoudsopgave
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SINCE THE EARLY 1980s:
THE ENTREPRENEURIAL UNIVERSITY
 The then Rector Magnificus: entrepreneurship as a (career) choice
(Harry van der Kroonenberg)
 University a great source of:
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Talents: Highly educated; Courageous (naïve?); No large committments yet;
Mistakes allowed
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Ideas: Open knowledge base
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Capital
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Reputation
 Incubators
 Soft loans to start-up / spin-off companies
(UT: €350 million  €85 million from contract sources)
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KENNISPARK TWENTE: SINCE 2006
 Founders:
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University of Twente, Saxion UAS, City, Region, Province (all invested)
 Create an ecosystem for entrepreneurship and innovation:
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Complete environment
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High ambitions: generate 10.000 knowledge jobs in region by 2020
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Independent Holding Technopolis Twente: safeguard and exploit IPR’s
 Three lines of activities:
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Starters and growers
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Innovative industry
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Innovation climate
http://www.kennispark.nl
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KENNISPARK TWENTE: HOW IT COORDINATES
 Starters/growers
 Innovation Climate
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Talent: training
 Business: events and networks
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Idea: Business case scouting /
 Juridical support
filtering / preparation
 Acquisition of rooted companies,
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Money: Financial networks, soft
loans (TOP program)
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Awareness
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Incubation
supply chain building
 Area development
 Marketing - commmunication
 Collective learning
 Innovative Industry
 Monitoring starters/growers
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Regional strategic agenda
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Consortia building
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Portals (SME focus)
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KENNISPARK TWENTE: A NEW ECOSYSTEM
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KENNISPARK TWENTE: KEY PERFORMANCES
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5750 knowlegde workers (excl. UT)
 UT most entrepreneurial university (NL)
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400 companies on park
 Saxion 1st UAS with valorisation INC.
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101 juridical advises (2013)
 Eastern NL: most innovative region
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988 spin-offs UT (30-50 p/a)
 Largest innovation campus in NL
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1025 spin-offs Saxion (50-80 p/a)
 Kennispark: best business park NL
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1000 student entrepreneurs
 Recent new companies:
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515 companies with TOP loans
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R&D Apollo
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315 innovation questions
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R&D Foseco
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261 innovation matches
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Cottonwood Technology Fund
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72 innovation projects
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RingCredible
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19 patents in 2014
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Mimetas
http://www.kennispark.nl/factsfigures/
Stairway to Excellence: Science to Business to Science
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CHAMPIONS OF 32 YEARS
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BUSINESS TO SCIENCE
 What is the reciprocal effect of entrepreneurship on academia and
research excellence?
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Companies set and share their long-term research and innovation ideas
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Companies and public organisations formulating relevant research questions
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Sharing of research facilities: private funding of university laboratories (50% of
operating costs of nano-clean room)
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Holding is co-owner of start-ups  revenues to university
Stairway to Excellence: Science to Business to Science
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BUSINESS TO SCIENCE (2)
 What is the reciprocal effect of entrepreneurship on academia and
research excellence?
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Companies object of study
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Companies delivering data for research
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Companies as partners and co-investors in research projects: European,
national, …
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Researchers remain academics: that is what they like to do!
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION !
QUESTIONS ?
Contact information:
Prof. dr. Hans (J.J.) Vossensteyn, University of Twente
Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS)
PO Box 217, 7500 AE ENSCHEDE, The Netherlands
tel:
+31 - (0)53 489 3809
e-:
[email protected]
inet:
www.utwente.nl/cheps
http://www.kennispark.nl
http://www.u-map.org/
http://www.umultirank.org/
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